Trevor Grills, math teacher at Lisgar Collegiate Institute, reveals the physics behind snowboarding.
Students from eight Ottawa high schools had the pleasure of carving up powder at the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ annual snowboarding festival this year, largely due to one teacher’s determination and dedication to the sport and his students.
Trevor Grills is a jack of all trades at Lisgar Collegiate Institute where he teaches math and computers, works as a guidance counsellor, and coaches many sports, including snowboarding.
This is the second year Grills has organized the league, which has come a long way since its opening season.
“In the first year, I contacted someone at the board, and they said they were willing to try it. I just had to find a hill that was interested,” said Grills.
That hill was Camp Fortune, just outside of Ottawa in Chelsea, Quebec. The 2006-2007 season saw five Ottawa schools competing in an exhibition league.
This year, things were a little different.
After giving a presentation to school board athletic directors, and securing the minimum of eight schools, Grills successfully established an Ottawa league recognized by the National Capital Secondary Schools Athletic Association which meant a regional competition and a ticket to the OFSAA championships in March.
Grills says the sport may not have caught on earlier in Ottawa because of fewer organized race leagues, such as the one in Collingwood, which is close to the championships at the Georgian Peaks ski club.
“In our whole league in Ottawa, we only had one racer with exterior training, and he trains at Tremblant,” said Grills.
The lack of professional training aside, Ottawa students faired well at the provincial championships. Lisgar student Léa Braschi placed twelfth in her race, making her Ottawa’s strongest individual racer, while the Lisgar girls team placed fourth out of nineteen teams.
“I liked being coached by Trevor. He was relaxed in the sense that he didn’t push anyone too hard. He trained us more to have fun,” said Braschi. “At the competition, instead of telling us not to let our school down, like some coaches were saying, he was joking with us, telling us not to fall,” she added.
“I think it was very successful this year. It’s totally dependent on schools participating. I have no doubt in Trevor’s commitment to the sport, and he’ll do everything to make it successful for the future,” said Laura Gillespie, an NCSSAA co-ordinator who has been assisting Grills over the past year to have snowboarding recognized by the association.
As for Grills’s plans for the future, he hopes to get more schools interested for next year.
“The more schools we get involved, the stronger the racing program is going to be in the area, the tougher the competition and the better our athletes will be,” he said.
He also hopes to take the Lisgar girls to the top three at OFSAA next year.
As for why he thinks the girl’s team has been such a success this year, Grills joked that “female athletes generally listen more.”
Grills encourages students to take up snowboarding, and asserts that contrary to what some may believe, little to no experience is required, and you don’t need a special racing board to join.
According to Grills, all a student really needs is “a willingness to learn” and a “desire to go fast.”
“Anything they need to do at this level, we can coach them. It’s all about putting the mind with the body,” he said.
With teaching, counselling, and coaching, it’s hard to imagine how Grills finds spare time for himself. In his words, “there are always the off seasons.”